Third baseman Travis Shaw slugged the first two home runs of his major league career and had four RBIs as the Boston Red Sox overcame another shaky start from Joe Kelly in an 11-7 win over the Tampa...

Joshua Fowler, 34, was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in state prison on Tuesday for seven residential burglaries in Rockingham County between 2009 and 2010. (JAMES A. KIMBLE PHOTO)

Ex-Derry man gets prison for multiple burglaries

By JAMES A. KIMBLEUnion Leader Correspondent

BRENTWOOD — A former Derry man who broke into seven homes across Rockingham County, making off with $60,700 in cash, home electronics and jewelry, was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in state prison on Tuesday.

Judge N. William Delker told Joshua Fowler, 34, formerly of Derry, that evidence from his trial in Rockingham County Superior Court last month clearly showed that his spate of break-ins between October 2009 and March 2010 was clearly motivated by profit.

“It sounds like you did quite well in terms of type of money you came off with,” Delker said, telling the father of three that his fiancée and three children have now become victims of his crimes as well because they will be without him while he serves his sentence.

Fowler was convicted by a jury of seven counts of burglary following his trial last month in Rockingham County Superior Court.

One victim, a co-worker of Fowler’s who kept $17,000 in a safe, had his home broken into while he was on vacation, Assistant County Attorney Jerome Blanchard said Tuesday.

“He was a first-generation citizen, and kept his life savings at his house,” Blanchard said.

Fowler also cased homes in Hampstead, Derry and Londonderry and called them on his cell phone to make sure no one was home before entering, according to Blanchard.

Fowler, who held down two jobs, testified during his trial that he would never break into a house because he was the victim of a burglary when he was a young boy.

Delker said he considered Fowler’s testimony “blatant perjury” including statements where he claimed that valuables he pawned in Massachusetts weren’t stolen, but similar items he was given.

“There were several points in your testimony where, frankly, you gratuitously poured salt in wounds of victims,” Delker said.

Homeowners who were victims of the break-ins did not attend Tuesday’s hearing.

Kady Condron, Fowler’s fiancée, asked the judge for leniency.

She said that Fowler has taught their three children to work hard, and supported her through four years of college.

“He really is a caring person,” Condron told Delker. “He wouldn’t take from hardworking people. He is a provider. He is not a bad person and I would like you to remember we have three children, and I really need him.”

A grand jury indicted Fowler in September 2011, but he did not appear in court until earlier this year after becoming listed as a “Fugitive of the Week” by the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

Defense lawyer Mark Stevens argued that Fowler should serve a five to 10 years in prison for his seven convictions. Stevens asked that his client have the right to contest restitution totaling $60,700 among the victims at a later hearing.